Tata Tele's STD licence on hold over foreign CEO issue

Mobile operator Tata Teleservices may have to wait to get an STD licence from the government till a clear picture emerges on the foreign CEO issue, which is expected in October.

"Let a clear picture emerge in October when it will be known if a company will be allowed to have a foreign CEO or not in the first place. Till then, there will be no decision on their STD application," official sources said.

"DoT has already sought clarifications on the company's NLD plans as well as the foreign CEO from TTSL. They are yet to reply. Anyway, why do they want a separate license for NLD when their group company, VSNL, is there already," the officials asked.

Tata Teleservices has a foreign CEO - Darryl Green.

The crux of the matter is the foreign CEO issue, which is yet to be resolved. While current guidelines state that whether foreign direct investment is there in a company or not, they will have to abide by the guidelines that allows only Indian CEO, CTO and CFO.